The Journey to Get Brahmin- Part 2
by RaiderValues
Summary: Part 2 of the Journey to get Brahmin. The story continues as the Pitt Raiders (Syndicate) go out into the wasteland


It didn't take them long to get to the entrance of Dark Line from the Pitt but it was a hassle hooking up the semi to the tracks. But after that hassle the troops and Kane found themselves walking the tunnel all the way to the Capital Wasteland. Kane already came up with a plan back to the Pitt he was ready to get these damn Brahmin.

The soldiers were walking on the concrete paths on the sides of the tracks. Workers Loyal to the Pitt are seen wielding on extra supports to help the tunnel be more secure on the new expansion of the tunnels. They don't say a thing to the soldiers just stay hard at work. A sudden voice echoes through the tunnel and it signals the break for the workers to they climb down from their scaffolding and start walking towards the Pitt others walk deeper into the tunnel to the main station.

It took about an hour to get to the main station they had to walk or it would have taken hours for them to get to the main station with the carts. Their was a broken cart that prevented travel and they pass it along the way. Workers cursed and tipped the thing over after 12 of them finally managed to tip it. Once they got to the main station the soldiers looked to Kane to give them orders.

"You guys. Take a rest and get something to drink. If you are drunk while we walk you better be able to carry yourself because if you fall. You get a bullet" Kane says to his troops that gather around him. The message was relayed and everyone understood the crowd of soldiers disperse some of them head over to a vender selling captured Aqua Pura. Others head for the bar to still get a drink despite what Kane said. Kane follows his troops deeper into Dark Line he doesn't say much but looks around he has never seen Dark Line because he has been out east for the past year when it was being built. It looks like an underground vault without the vault door. Everything is new and shiny even the lights are new. They look like somebody just polished them. As he walks further in he could see the elaborate support system. This place truly was a bunker but he shied away from thinking that the Pitt would ever need it. But it could hold a large sum of people rooms and rooms were empty. The ones that were open for the eye could see was storage rooms and a bar. There was a lonely merchant yelling his wares but not many people stopped to look at them.

Kane soon found himself in the area where they held slaves from Paradise Falls and other slaving bands. The slaves were naked sitting in pens. They had blindfolds on and huddled together despite their lack of attire. There were women, men, and children alike sitting in the pins. The Pitt bought them all. Right next to the slave pens were the trusted caravans Brahmin. Kane looked at a couple dozen of them. "I am going to be seeing a lot of you things" he mumbles to himself.

When he is still focusing on the Brahmin a little crowd of Syndicate soldiers gather around the slave pens. They sat teasing them from afar jangling the cage soldier stuck his hand through the chainlink fence and grabbed a womans foot. She recoiled and kicked his hand. The soldier howled out in pain as it broke one of his fingers. Kane stood and watched as the woman was torn from the cage and the crowd had a little go with her. Once she started to scream out Kane walked away. He walked until he couldn't hear her anymore. People looked behind him as he walked trying to figure out what the wailing was coming from.

After an hour or so he called for his troops to meet him at the main station. The intercom spoke out to his troops telling them that it is time to move out. A few minutes later a stream of soldiers start pouring out from deeper within Dark Line. He soon had all his soldiers looking at him. "Alright we are going to be travelling the Capital Wastes and we will not be raiding settlements as you are used to." With this sentence Kane's soldiers look confused others look a little unhappy. "We were assigned a mission to get a large herd of Brahmin." The soldiers sighed some cursed on how their talents are being wasted. But none yelled out or stood up against Kane as doing so would be an act of treason and they were none the less loyal to the Syndicate and its officers.

"We will make this an easy run. Catching about 400 Brahmin will put all the food on the table. And if you haven't heard the NCR will give us seeds. And that might not sound too good for you but when you are starving in the next two years. The only people that will be laughing is the cannibals that are eating you." Kane remarks sarcastically at the end. The soldiers don't grumble anymore. As Kane made the situation personal all the soldiers stood quiet.

Kane looks out among the large group of soldiers. Most of them are in their assigned power armor. The designs of some of them took a lot of work to make some had animals painted on the armors. And some had the same designs indicating that they were friends, lovers. or part of a group before coming to the Pitt. All of the armors at least had one personal design.

"Alright let's move out of this damn place" Kane says he starts walking leading the group down the last stretch of tunnel. They walked for a good thirty minutes until they got to the end of the tunnel. It would have been quicker to ride to the end but the rail was obstructed. They come up on a guard post and 10 Raiders were sitting behind sandbags and concrete blockades on the path and below on the rail. Mounted on some of the walls were turrets and on the concrete blockades a missile launcher can be seen with various other heavy weapons. Instead of going through the small door. Some guards looked through a wall in front of them and from the angle kane stood from it looked to be about a foot of thick metal. They looked back at a control men in a concrete bunker attached to the side of the tunnel. Instead of the small door they opened the main gate. A couple of loud thuds echo through the gate and bars that looked embedded to the door fall away from it making the door become free. It opens outwards to reveal the old entrance to the Pitt Tunnel. Many bodies lay rotting in front of them. Some look like Raiders others look like mercenaries, They all thought that the Pitt was easy to enter like long ago.

Kane and his Raiders walk through the gate. All of them except Kane put on their helmets. The steady sound of breathing through gas masks can be heard. The soldiers take out their weapons Kane included. They all walked towards the light that was the Capital Wasteland.

Kane emerges from the tunnel as his soldiers follow soon after. The sunshine hits Kane and he looks down he is the only one not wearing his helmet so he had no tinted eye piece to help him. He squints and lets his eyes adjust. It takes him a few seconds but then he looks up and sees the landscape around him. It's barren and nothing for miles. A small chain link fence pen sits empty and a Body with a bandana sits on the ground near it. Kane stops his troops. He makes sure that they are all listening until he gives the orders.

"Alright we are splitting into groups. Don't make a big hassle out of this. I need 8 groups of 10 and the rest will be fitted somewhere." The Raiders start picking out groups and they soon are equally spread out into groups. Kane was left with a group of 6 him making it 7.

"Alright We are going to circle the Wastes but make sure that you don't grab too much attention to yourself. We need Brahmin not other shit. So don't think that nobody is watching. I can bet that the Hounds of Valentine are roaming the wastes. And you will have to deal with him once we get back to the Pitt. Now that we got this settled let's all stay away from Old Only for the obvious. Also I don't need to tell you to stay away from GermanTown and the Capital. Meta Mountain is in this area and reports show that they are turning people. You are no use to us if you're a mindless brute. And for the Capital. We don't need the Brotherhood up our ass. Anyone else tries to fuck with his. You give them a warm welcome. But don't take prisoners kill them.

Alright let's try to get some Brahmin. And if you cannot for some damn reason catch a Slow ass Brahmin then you better bring me back a molerat. It will make me consider if you are actually that worthless or not. Let's wait until the Semi gets here then we will load up on equipment and head out." Kane concludes his little speech by walking away his group of 6 follow him. He sets his 6 men to scan the area for any strangers that might appear.

The sun has started to set when the Semi finally makes it through the tunnel. Its loud engine is blasted through the quiet evening. Once the semi gets is completely out of the tunnel the engine cuts off. The trailer is bombarded with Soldiers getting the equipment off the trailer. It takes the soldiers under 15 minutes to fully unload the trailer. The crew that came with the semi start to drill the posts in for a large chain link fence. Once every group had their chains and cattle prods they started disappearing into the night the Semi became a mobile bunker as the mounted weapons watched over the workers. A few scavengers, traders, and the occasional traveller stopped to look but they didn't get to close when they seen the guns barrels pointing at them.

Kane stood eating a can of pork an beans from his newly acquired pack of things. He gathered from the truck. If it was any other Raider they would have been chastised but when people seen him do it nobody asked any questions. He looked for his group of 6 and after a while kane spots them. They are all sitting in a group looking through the things that were given to them. With the Chains and cattle prods they all were given a small backpack of food-water and other miscellaneous things. Most of the Raiders before they left did exactly what his group is doing now. Kane walks up to his group who quickly look up to him awaiting orders.

"Alright. We are heading out, get your things ready we are leaving as soon as you stand up. We have a late start and will be meeting back here in a few days." Kane says to them

The soldiers that were on the ground quickly get up and follow kane that has already started walking. The Sun sets and they find themselves alone at night, They switch to Night Vision and head through the dark. Along the way they glimpse at people camping for the night and the Raiders fight the urge to go and take their things. Kane looks back at them and they know that he will not allow such an infraction in the rules. So they moved on into the night. When the moon sits at its highest point in the night. Up ahead they seen a small group of Brahmin. Kane signals to the Raiders behind him to get done. Everyone sits looking over a small rise nobody says a word or moves an inch. Kane looks for the best possible way to heard them all. There is only about 8 of them 4 calves its small number but a good start.

"Alright here is the plan" Kane says in a low raspy voice

"We are going to split up. You 4 split into 2 groups and one group goes left and the other right. You other 2 go with one of the other groups and get in front of them. Once you guys are in position I will sneak up as far as possible and fire a shot scaring them to you. Make sure you don't forget to link the carry the chains. Once I shoot I want you running to close them inside. Once we are close enough throw the chains ends on the Brahmin and tighten them. If we get it that far then we control the situation." Kane quickly points to the direction where they should head out. His soldiers head out into the night and he ends up alone. He grabs his 44 and checks the bullets. All there he says to himself. He gives the Soldiers a generous 20 minutes and then he starts to move up towards the the little group of Brahmin. The dirt even though he can't feel it through his metal gloves is cold as the night. He tries to avoid the dead bush and rocks. He bends down as he makes his way to the Brahmin. He is relieved that he got his squeaky leg piece repaired. As he gets closer the Brahmin can sense that something is watching them. They all looked up and started to look around. They stamped their hooves and some grunted. As Kane got really close he raised his 44. He grabbed his cattle prod and took off the chain that he put on his back. He lifted his 44 in the air and fired a shot the Brahmin startled from the sudden explosion of noise. Start to running away from him but right towards their trap. After Kane fires a shot he jumps up and starts to run towards the brahmin. A sudden buzz comes alive and the Cattleprod comes to life. He puts away his 44 and slings the chain off of his shoulder getting ready to catch a Brahmin or two. His Armor starts to whir as is the pistons go back and forth. It starts really slow but it becomes louder and it can be heard as he goes into a sprint. With every footstep it whirs in unision.

As the Brahmin heard together trying to run from him. They start to break away from the little pack and they are met with Raiders on all sides. The Bulls in the front seen the oncoming chains and speed up. Instead of meeting a chain. They slam into the Raiders and the Raiders hold on as their feet dig into the sand. The 2 bulls and the Raiders grabbing them go down in a hurry. The other 4 including the calves are rounded up and they don't put up much of a fight. The only two that are not captured start to turn around. They face Kane coming right for them.

"Ah.. Come on you little fuckers" He says as he charges at them they don't have enough distance to gain enough speed as the already sprinting Kane throws one of the chain nurses around the Brahmin's neck.. The other one tries to sprint off but he soon has another chain along its thick neck. They both try to pull away in opposite directions. Kane struggles to hold on to them his armor starts to groan as the weight pulling against it stacks up. The other Raiders are busy rounding up their Brahmin to even notice.

The metal arms of the suit start to make a popping noise. One of the Brahmin pulls hard enough to bring Kane down to kneel on the ground. He kneels on the ground being pulled apart by 2 Brahmin. When his armor starts to fall apart. Kane lets out a loud Yell. It's a yell that takes everything out of Kane. He starts to bend his forearms to pull the Brahmin and at first they don't move but they start to come towards him being pulled back as he tugs on the chain harder and harder. Kane is a strong man. Stronger than most but he isn't a super mutant.

As his arms are fully retracted. He looks up at the Sky.

"Shit" He exhales and his arms are ripped back. The Armor on his right arm rips away as the chains were attached to his shoulders. It shatters his arm and Kane screams out in pain. Whatever armor was left on his right side stand attached to his bent wrist. To the left side of him the Brahmin does the same thing but the armor only shatters at the shoulder and the chain comes loose. He holds on for dear life. He will not let them go. A few moments later the tension between the chains gives way and Kane falls to the dirt.

Kane wakes up this time in a not so pleasant situation. He is sitting under a makeshift tent made of a green canvas. It's big enough to walk around and little sleeping bags litter the tent also. Some food wrappers lay on the ground along with an empty pork and beans can. He looks down and sees that he doesn't have armor on and his arm is bent and a shotty splint was made. He did give them credit for trying but his arm would never heal if it was left in this state it was purple and very swollen. He tried to push flap of the sleeping bag off of him. He winced as his whole arm cried out in pain. His other arm was sore and it was littered with bruises. He looked for his armor but he knew that he couldn't get it back on. So He got up in his skinsuit and walked out of the vacant tent. Outside his troops stood by a dead dog sitting on a metal grate being cooked. His entrails litter the ground a little bit away. Most of them look at him not knowing what to say.

"Rough night anyone?" Kane breaks the silence.

The others laugh. "It was very rough for us. You might not remember but you cursed the whole way and had to stop. To do all that to you. And don't worry we got the Brahmin they are behind the tent" One of the Raider says she is a young woman and the undeclared second in command it seems.

Kane turns around and the 8 Brahmin sit tethered to the ground they look tired and scared. Burn marks dot their reddish skin from the cattle prods.

"How long did it take to get us here?" Can asks the female Raider.

"Well after that happened to you we thought we could get you back to the Tunnel but with the Brahmin and the job of carrying you it was difficult so we stopped we are about 4 hour walk to the Tunnel. We made good time considering our circumstances." She stands up and heads into the tent for something.

Kane walks to the fire even though it's early morning and the sun is shining there is still a chill in the air and for him being in a skinsuit there is not that much protection. As Kane sits at the fire the smell of cooked meat fills the air and one of the Raiders starts to butcher the hairless dog. He separates the meat equally letting it cook a little longer. The sun glints off Kane's black skinsuit warming him until the next gust of cold air comes.

The Woman Raider walks out of the tint she sits by Kane and they all start to eat the cooked dog meat. The Meat is not the greatest Kane has had but it's better than the same old pork and beans. He chews on the rubbery meat until it is manageable to swallow. One of the Raiders almost laughs. Everyone is used to the spiced Brahmin that the Syndicate cooks. They all wash the meat down with a bottle of water. Most of them drink half of their canteen to help the meat slide down their throats a little easier. Kane started to have a flashback.

This is how it used to be. Rubbery meat and makeshift camps used to be his scene until he joined the Syndicate. Or the old Pitt but that was a life ago. He had elevated his status and was used to eating better things. He almost forgot what it was like to be a common Raider. Being in a small band of raiders has it perks. Its easier to hide 4-10 men than an army of them. And there is no item sharing like there is in the Pitt. Maybe I will split off one day. Maybe even take Alice with me like old times. I hope she doesn't get too attached to Valentine. That asshole stood in my way to the throne and now to Alice.

"Sir? What should we do?" A raider says bringing him out of his thoughts. Kane looks around his arm throbs now and then. But he knows that they will be dragged down by him. And they need to get enough Brahmin. He thinks of one option.

"Make me a little sled. Use an extra chain instead of a rope if you have to. Then get my armor and set it on the sled and strap it down if you will. You guys go along ahead of me when you are ready. I am going to make my way back to Dark Line by myself."

"But you can't in that state anything can attack you out there you know." One of them says

"I know that. I can still shoot decent and they will think that I am a little scavenger. If they come after me they will just rob me. I will be okay. You guys know where I am going and if I am not there when you guys return tell a superior and whoever took me will be hunted down by Jack of Cards" Kane says he puts emphasis on the Name.

Jack of Cards is a semi famous bounty hunter. Good at his job he takes almost any contract. A run in with Ira a scientist that was taken in by the Syndicate long ago bring them to Valentine which has used Jack's skills for deserters and targets of Interests. They say that ever since the bosses prize Tracker was sold he has made due with the Jack of Cards taking up slave tracking.

10 minutes pass and a Raider brings Kane a sled its a sleeping bag with a scrap cardboard bottom. Kane grabs it from him and sets the chain that is attached to his little sled over his shoulder. Soon after they load his things onto the sled. His mangled armor which weighs his little sled down tremendously. And his new backpack with his supplies in it. With all the weight he gives it a tug. and it slowly drags behind him with each footstep. He doesn't say a word to the Raiders because they knew what was expected of them and they wouldn't let him down.

Kane walked for a long time it seems not seeing anything but a stray dog which looked at him greedily and ran off when he showed it his gun. The afternoon started to set in and the warm sun was the only thing keeping him company besides the throb of his shattered arm. Which he held against his chest protecting it from the world. As he moved towards his destination the scraping of the sled followed him. the dirt kicked up with every step that he took. Even though he was in a skinsuit he managed to get a pair of boots on with the help of the girl soldier.

He kept walking until he seen a flash. He looked over and whatever it was quickly ducked behind the rock. He walked a little further until he seen it again, He knew for sure that he was being watched and he thought about the possibilities on what it would be. Ranking what was going to get him was the only fun he had all afternoon. From where he was at he thought that a couple of Raiders would be around. But he thought to himself that….He stopped. He knew there was a Mutant group located around here also. He thought the worst but. He knew if that is they way he would go he has a full 44 waiting for them.

A scream yells out from the hill and Kane sighs in relief. He drops the chain from his shoulders and looks at a group of 4 Raider coming at him instead of pulling out his revolver. He just stands there and waits for them to come up to him. He is not that amused of what is happening and doesn't even care to look at the Raiders sprinting at him. He knows they are upon him when the footsteps start to get louder and then they suddenly stop. A young man comes up to him, Or he thinks it's a man because of the body structure.

"Get on your knees and don't move. Will ya" A man's voice sounds out. Kane sighs but before he can say something a bar hits him in the back of the knees and against his will obeys the man's command. They start to rummage through his things scattering it about. They look at his armor and the man comes back to him.

"So you looting off of corpses I see. Or..or. Are you a deserter..How about you… You tell me Yeah?" The man says he stutters a little.

"I am just scavenged it. That is what was left of a camp south of here. It's Syndicate" Kane slowly says to the man

"You like a bit hurt.. Did you get that from scavenging?" The man says amused.. He is the only one that cares enough to talk to the man the others are fighting over food.

"Yes… I tripped over a rock and broke my arm.. It was unfortunate of me"

"Very unfortunate. I am sorry that it happened to you" The Raider laughs at his try at a joke.

"I don't have much on me. I am broke and that armor is mangled I was going to sell it to the Syndicate. See if they would give me anything for it." Kane tries to spark interest in the Man

"Yes.. Yes.. Very smart of you but. I think I have a better offer for them. I am going to take the armor sell it to them and then sell you to them also." The Raider smiles with his gnarled teeth. It was a wolf's grin.

"I don't think I can stop you in the state I am in" Kane looks up at the Raider.

"I guess not" The man pats Kane down and they seize all the weapons from him.

Kane is forced to walk with them as they head to the tunnel. They take all of his things some play with parts of the Power Armor confused on how it works. He thought to himself. Hey gained some protection even though they weren't necessarily protecting him. And he thought back to his flashback about being a small band of Raiders. He forgot to mention that most of them are stupid as stupid can be. He is lucky that they don't know him. They would probably hold him for ransom and then he would be in danger of getting killed because he would be the only piece of meat in a pen full of starved dogs.

He walks the rest of his journey as a captured slave to be, They push him about trying to tease him. But Kane doesn't care he almost smiles as the thought of them realizing who he is when they get there.

They finally arrive at the entrance of the tunnel they talk with some soldiers and they are let through. Kane keeps his head down. Some soldiers might suspect but if they don't see his face they won't speak up. His captors slowly walk into his little trap. A slaver hired by the Syndicate stops them and the Man quickly explains.

"I have a little something for you if you have the caps." The man says

"I have the caps. But do you think that I am an idiot" The Slaver yells out at the man

" He is all fucked up. His arm looks broken and" The Slaver walks up to Kane and lifts up his face. Once he sees his face.. "And… He… He is not blind" The slaver stops talking and suddenly lets go of Kane he stands there in shock.

"Get. My men" Kane mumbles to the Slaver..

"I will buy him but I don't have the caps on me. I will be right back. Stay here and don't do anything stupid" The Slaver walks off in a hurry. They Raiders look at one another. They try to act tough or as tough as a 4 man group of Raiders can among the Syndicate soldiers.

The Slaver returns with some caps it's enough to buy Kane… The Man grabs the Caps from the slaver. He looks down at them then as stupid as he is he has a smart thought.. "Wait.. I didn't give you a price" The man sounds confused

"I know" The slaver puts a magnum to the man's head and blows a hole through his skull. Chunks of brain and blood land on Kane's face.. He doesn't flinch. The rest of the Raiders are encircled by Syndicate Soldiers who quickly pour a couple bullets into them. As the bodies hit the floor. The Slaver comes up to Kane.

"Sorry about that. We didn't need a hostage situation. It was quick but not clean" The Slaver says. Kane doesn't say a thing.. He walks to Lead Raiders corpse and takes his 44 back. he doesn't care for anything else he just walks into Dark Line. The Soldiers look at him and recognize him immediately nobody wants to check him and he is in a skinsuit anyways.

A blood spattered Kane gets on a Cart and goes rides through the tunnel..

The clicking of the electric car makes a steady beat as it goes towards the main station. Kane road this to the Pitt in better shape. Now he rides with a throbbing shattered arm. He winces every time the cart jolts a little. He took the cart from the station and made sure that everyone got off. The way Kane looked at them made sure they wouldn't say no. So he got on the cart and there he was only 15 minutes away from The main station until he could finally get some rest and maybe fix his arm. The thought of his arm makes him look down upon it. The arm is swollen and it hasn't gotten any better. If anything it has gotten worse as the bruises start to get darker he worries that something is really wrong with it. He had broken bones before but their were people around to help him properly fix it. He couldn't re break the arm without passing out and he wouldn't do something like that until he knew he was safe. And anyways the Syndicate has doctors maybe not the best but they know what they are doing in a situation like this.

He looked into the distance and seen the workers strung about on cables working on the tunnels. He knew these weren't the same workers from yesterday but they seem to make good time working on the tunnel. He passes them by and soon he arrives at the station. It is a busy as it was yesterday. Soldiers are outnumbered by workers and newly arrived slaves, Everyone keeps to themselves except the traders yelling out their wares. Kane scans the station. Until the cart stops almost throwing him to the ground. He stands up and grumbles a little… He steps off the cart and makes his way through a large steel door like he did yesterday and walked into the little town of Syndicate families and vendors. He follows a rough looking sign with a red plus. He doesn't waste too much time looking around. He goes straight for the doctor. He comes upon a tent and a man sits in a chair. As kane makes his way to him the man in the chair looks at him and just points inside the tent. No words were exchanged and Kane walks straight into the tent. The Tent was full of cots were injured would lay. Two Women sit on the cots talking to each other. They don't seem to care that Kane walked in. A Doctor at the end of the tent sits looking at a clipboard. Noticing that somebody walked through his tent he stands up and walks to Kane.

"Seems that you broke something there" The Doctor says

"Yes. Doc. I shattered my arm trying to bring down a Brahmin"

"I never heard of something like that side of the continent" She says.

"Yeah I guess so.. So can you fix it?" Kane looks down at his arm. The doctor walks up to him and tries to grasp it. Kane recoils his arm as fast as you can pull away a broken arm.

"I am not going to squeeze the thing. I don't have any x-ray machine here and me prodding at it is the best way to know where it's broken" The Doctor goes on a little more but Kane interrupts him by putting out his arm..

"There we go.. It wasn't that hard" She says sarcastically

"You touching it better be worth the pain." Kane grumbles.

She touches his arm and gently prods it. Once she thinks the break is she focuses on that area. His arm is twisted and it will heal improperly.

She starts to feel his arm with both her hands. What once was a muscled arm is reduced to a twisted broken pile of flesh. She stops prodding his arm and puts her finger on her lips thinking of a solution. Kane starts to take back his arm but she seizes it

"I am not done yet" She says. She quickly grips Kane's arm and he yells out in pain. Before he can rip it from her grasp she grabs it with another hand and then she bends it with all her might and Kane yells out in pain. Kane gets ready to swing at the woman but a loud pop beats him to it and Kane falls to the floor passed out. The struggle was over.

Kane wakes up.. He doesn't open his eyes just yet. He thinks to himself that this habit needs to stop. What lures his eyes to open is the 2 Women that were sitting on the cot leaving the tent. Kane tried to sit up but was stopped by his arm. Once he moved it started to throb and he didn't want to make it worse. But as the pain started to flare up i wasn't as bad as before. He looked down at it and it was wrapped neatly. His arm was as thick as a club with the wrapping on. It didn't take him long to sit up but from behind a voice familiar sounded.

"I am sorry that had to happen.. But you were so curious to letting me have it. I saved us a hassle of letting me break it for you." The Doctor says. She walks behind Kane and takes off the rest of a blanket that was on Kane.

"I guess you're right.. But don't you ever do that again." Kane sounds a little angry.

"I hope that I don't have to. Just don't come back here with any broken bones" She laughs a little

Kane doesn't look that amused as he gets up out of the cot.

"Oh somebody named Alice is here. I told her that you were sleeping and instead of going away she has been waiting for over an hour."

"How long have I been out?" Kane says curiously

"Ohh. About 4 hours I would say."

"Thanks for fixing me" He says but it's not that enthusiastic. He walks out of the Tent.

He quickly spots the Red haired Woman and she is nobody but Alice. Instead of a Skinsuit Alice wears a more decent set of Power Armor. It's littered with designs of a Red Dragon. The tattoo of it stretches all the way to her missing helmet. As He walks out She spots him and starts to walk towards him. A jingle of her shotgun followers her as she walks.

"So I heard you tried to take a couple Brahmin on by yourself" She starts

"Yeah.. And we got them to.. I just got the worse part of the deal" Kane says.

Alice and Kane start to walk side by side as the converse.

"I heard from a little bird that you were injured.. I didn't know if you were seriously injured until I came all the way down here. I guess this stops our hunting trip a little" She sounds a little bummed about the trip.

"I wouldn't have suspected that you would come all the way out here to check up on me. Are you bored in that little fortress Valentine gots you locked up in…-" He sounds a little sarcastic but their is a bit of emotion behind his words. He doesn't get to finish.

"As if. I am not Valentine's plaything. He doesn't control. I think that you're a little jealous" Alice points out.

"No I am just watching out for you. I hear the stories about him and you are a close friend that I don't want to become victim to him." Kane says carefully

"I am not the young reckless girl you think I am. I have changed and can watch out for myself. I know what you're getting at you have saved me a couple times from dangerous situations. But this situation is not dangerous and if it becomes I can take care of myself" She declares. She doesn't project any meanness towards Kane.

"Alright.. I get it just be careful for me" He says.

As the conversation becomes a standstill she sighs.

"So about our hunting trip" He starts again.

"You have to wait until that thing is healed up first Kane"

"I know but just in the future where do you want to go. And don't say out west. I have been there for the past year. It's becoming a little bland" Kane thinks about the sand upon sand that is out there. And the incredible heat.

"Well if we are thinking in the future we could go out past Denver and through a state called.." She thinks for a second as she thinks. "I think it's Wyoming.. And we can go through Idaho.. The boys stationed out there before we left the place said it is crawling with people and wildlife." Alice says a little excited

"I hope what they said is true." Kane pauses for a second they still walk along the little town they make it past a gun dealer which Alice and him quickly glance at his wares but they keep walking.

"It will be old time fun. We could have our little competition like we used to." He smiles at Alice thinking back to when they used to keep score on the things they killed.

"Yeah. I think I beat you everytime. But let's not hurt your pride" She laughs

"Its because I let you win" He says

"Yeah Okay" She pokes

They keep walking around the town and start to go on about the recent events no topic lasts long enough to dwell upon.

Kane keeps coming back to the thought in his head. He does like Alice but she is with Valentine. He has liked her ever since they met back when they were in their teens. She was always too far away for him to grasp. And now that they are older they are always separated by assignments. He trailed off thinking that it was on purpose but he quickly broke that chain of thought and focused on the conversation. Once Alice stopped talking about coming to the Pitt a week ago. A thought popped into his head.

"Alice.. Does the Pitt have an auto-doc or whatever the things called?" He asks

"Yes. We have a couple but they are not for the public to use. Valentine holds them in his bunker. Maybe I can get you access." Alice ponders at the thought.

"We could get this cleared up really fast if he would agree. And it would be beneficial to him anyways. He needs the Brahmin for the NCR seeds he desires. And if he wants me to work he will have to fix me up." Kane says. His words have a dark tone to it,

"You come to the Pitt. Go to the palace late in the evening I will have a answer for you when you arrive." Alice says.

"Alright… Well I wish you luck convincing him" Kane breaks away from her and starts to walk away

"Don't worry It's won't be that hard. He listens to logic" Alice starts to walk towards the Station.

Alice walks down the corridors, she passes the heavy door that separates Dark Line Station to Dark Line Bunker. She enters the station and sees a cart, She quickly heads towards it. Mostly workers sit at the station unloading things from previous arrived carts. Once Alice boards the cart she doesn't wait to press the button. After she presses it the cart begins to move as electricity powers the engine. After a while the cart speeds up until the walls around her starts to blur. She passes people walking on the paths but they blow past her. She just stands in the cart thinking about her upcoming talk with Valentine and his precious auto-doc.

Valentine won't allow people into his private collection rooms almost for any circumstance. He has allowed Her once to see his armory. But it was a quick glimpse and she was quickly shooed out of the room. But she thought to herself that he would let Kane of all people through. And his given status and loyalty would weigh on a Valentine's decision. She arrived at the original entrance to the Pitt. It has changed in the past year and has been cleaned up a lot. When Alice gets off the cart she is greeted by soldiers who let her through with ease. Even though she is a Soldier Turrets follow her every move. She gets past the Guard Bunkers sitting at the end of the tunnel and then the new heavy metal door swings towards her. She is hit with sunlight and warm summer air. The New train station lays before here. The Behemoth sits on the tracks being worked on. She glances at the bright Yellow machine it stretches 3 cars deep and the rest of it is scattered on different tracks. She looks away from it and starts to walk through the rest of the train station. There is a sea of tracks were different train cars are being built and ones that are being repaired. Soldiers do most of the working with their Power Armor. Not many workers are seen here. A crane above them carries a train car axle and they are lowering it down to the tracks. Along with the freight cars. There is bucket Cars full of concrete and ingots. High above the work zone a man stands with decorated armor overseeing it all. It's one of the Foremans Valentine papers.

After walking through a maze of people and around boxes and parts she makes it through a guard checkpoint and she stands in the second ring of the Pitt. She doesn't waste much time walking through the streets. She passes patrols and workers alike. The sound of tools and alarms blare in this side of the ring. When she finally gets to the bridge she does the mandatory check with the guards. she lets them pat her down and grumbles that it's overkill. But they check her anyways and then she makes her way to the Palace.

She doesn't make anything complaints when she goes through another 4 Guard checkpoints on her way to the grand room. Once she finally makes it through, She walks across the marble floor all the way up to Valentine. The Guards let her through instantly. Valentine sits on his throne engrossed in yet another set of papers. But these papers have locations on them and points of interests. When he notices Alice walking up to him he looks up and starts to put away the papers. He smiles at her.. She smiles back.. Valentine is the first to break the silence

"So you stand before me is there something on your mind?" Valentine says he moves about in his chair

"Well yes there is something on my mind, That I would like to discuss."

"What would that something be Alice?" Valentine sounds curious.

"Well if you haven't heard. My friend Kane is injured and I know that you have an auto-doc around in your 'Private Collection' and am asking that you let him use it." Alice says

"Why would I want him to use it, He will heal up fine." Valentine knows what she will say and tries to coax out a answer he already knows.

"Well, the faster he heals the faster he will be able to fulfill his assignment.. You know that don't play coy" Alice sounds a little angered.

"I will let him. But maybe I should show you and him around. I don't usually let anyone back there and you will see most of my collection as we walk back to the Auto-Doc so it would be rude not to show you around" Valentine says

"That sounds generous and I am curious to see your collection. I accept and I will speak for Kane can also" Alice says. Now that they she has gotten through to Valentine she stops her act.

"So what are you looking at?" She tries at a conversation

"Well, If you really want to know. It's just locations that have been scouted out by my troops. It's a little checklist on the things I am trying to get" He says

"And what would these thing be?" Alice asks

Alice moves closer to Valentine who picks up his papers again. She stops when she is hanging off the chair. She can't get to close because she has bulky armor on. Valentine holds the papers in his hand and then he adjust his place in the throne as his Power Armor becomes uncomfortable.

He starts to read out items

"Well things of greater interest. Is computers. Auto-Docs, Schematics, And the usual books. You can learn a lot by reading the old world books and sometimes you find important shipping documents they hold the key to a lot of the nice things found in the Pitt." Valentine starts to go on but he stops himself and looks at Alice.

"I am starting to ramble again aren't I" He says he chuckles a little it's an unfamiliar sound. But not to Alice as she has made him laugh before.

"It's not rambling. And if it was I don't mind you just like your work" She chuckles with him

"I wouldn't put 'Likes my work' on anything around here. It's a masquerade of lies and fear most of the time. And long nights of work and planning" He says

"It isn't that bad. But if it's really bad you make it look easy." Alice tries to give Valentine a little ego boost.

"Let's not dwell on my position. When will Kanye arrive?" He changes the subject as smoothly as possible

"I told him to wait until late in the afternoon. I was planning on a big debate with you about letting him use the Auto-Doc but it didn't turn out that way" Alice laughs a little trying to lighten the mood about what she said.

Valentine looks back at her "I guess I will put up a better fight next time" He looks back at his papers silently reading them.


End file.
